Ever get sick of seeing the same mechanical problems happen time and time again on site?

Find yourself struggling to hit performance targets because the machinery is letting you down?

Daniel, veteran mine engineer at Appin Mine in the Macarthur region, reckons life would be a whole lot simpler if he just had a better process to manage the all-too-common ‘work-around’, but is hopeful he may have just found it.

Band-Aid solutions are part of the job, but wouldn’t it be good if they weren't

‘It took me months to figure out that I had to redesign an idler which kept on breaking down and always needed replacing,’ said Daniel.

‘I had to go to every parts supplier to get their take on things and in the end I just did it myself.

‘The result was millions of dollars gained every year in improved performance, but it just seems ridiculous that something so simple to redesign was like pulling teeth to get there.

Why you have to move mountains to get the job done better

‘It takes a while to move things up the chain. Then there’s the manufacturers who get comfortable and put your suggestions in the too-hard basket.

‘There’s a rabbit warren of different people you have to talk to who’ll consider plans and you don’t always get onto the right people.

‘All the while you’re wasting your time when there are other things you could be doing so you can get home to see the kids before they go to bed.

It’s just one of those things the mining industry needs to improve

‘Torqn is this social media app for miners to talk about equipment. This will probably speed things up for most of us engineers because I’m certain I’m not the only one whose come across these problems.

‘If everyone finds out that there’s a similar problem elsewhere, together you might figure out a way to fix things.

‘Then you’ve got some back up when you talk directly to the manufacturer. It’ll be good to get onto the right person quicker too.

‘I like that Torqn connects you directly to the manufacturing too, without having to go around the world to get an answer.

Daniel was part of the Torqn testing ground for what miners need.